State bill would charge retailers for plastic bags

Monday

A state House Bill would tax large retailers for each bag they give out.

A bill in the state Senate would charge retailers 2 cents for each plastic bag they give to shoppers.

Senate Bill 590, sponsored by King of Prussia Democrat Daylin Leach, is designed to protect the environment and improve recycling efforts.

The tax would hit retailers with sales of at least $1 million a year.

Half of the money would be returned to the business for "better corporate recycling practices," according to Zach Hoover, chief of staff for Leach.

The other half would go to the state for approved recycling programs, "not to the general fund for pet projects," Hoover said.

"Using a product that scientists say will last between five and 1,000 years doesn't make sense for something that takes five minutes."

The idea of taxing plastic bags - up to 20 cents a bag - is something being considered in several states.

Four years ago, San Francisco was the first big city to ban plastic bags.

Washington, D.C., has a 5-cents-per-bag tax on both plastic and paper. Its law is designed to change consumer behavior and limit pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, according to The Washington Post. Under regulations created by the D.C. Department of the Environment, bakeries, delicatessens, grocery stores, drugstores, convenience stores, department stores and any other "business that sells food items" must charge the tax.

Leach's bill has nowhere near the momentum necessary for it to get out of the Finance Committee, let alone become law. Only two Democratic senators - Jim Ferlo of Pittsburg and Rich Kasunic of Somerset - have co-sponsored the legislation.

"We see it as sort of a non-starter," admitted Hoover, who said that Leach hasn't pursued co-sponsors. "The governor (Tom Corbett) made a pledge for no new taxes. Many people in the House have pretty much done the same.

"We just believe this issue needs to be part of the conversation."

So does Jan Jarrett, president of PennFuture, an environmental advocacy organization.

"It's a good idea," Jarrett said. "We're happy to state we support the measure and we will lend a hand if it does get any traction."

Jarrett pointed out that since petroleum is used to make plastic bags, "with oil prices going through the roof, cutting down on manufacturing a product made with petroleum makes perfect sense."

She said Pennsylvania could also benefit as Washington, D.C., did with less litter and clogged storm water systems.

The tax "is small enough where people won't notice it," she said. "I think it's clever. It's good thinking to return a portion directly to the retailer. There's something in it for them to overcome some objections."

But overcoming the objections of Republican who control the Senate is another matter.

State Sen. Bob Mensch of Quakertown said "I'm not crazy about any surcharge or tax, 2 cents or otherwise. A tax is trying to change behavior when education is the best thing."

Mensch said a number of supermarkets in his 24th District have large containers at their stores for recycling. And many, including himself, shop with reusable bags.

"This is kind of like taxing soda," he said, "it's inflationary as this will be. To me it's not the right way to go about it."

State Sen. Chuck McIlhinney of Doylestown said Leach's idea "may sound good, but it's not really the answer we need to tackle right now."

The Center for Consumer Freedom, a nonprofit group that bills itself as protecting consumer choices, is against the bill.

"Attempting to demonize or tax plastic bags - as Sen. Leach is proposing - is a perfect example of knee-jerk, feel-good regulation that brings with it a myriad of unintended consequences," CCF senior research analyst J. Justin Wilson stated in a press release. "Politicians often respond to activist-driven junk science by banning or taxing products without giving any thought to what people will use instead."

Wilson claims some reusable bags "contain lead and can be a breeding ground for bacteria. In the end, the new alternative can end up being worse than its replacement."

Hoover, Leach's chief of staff, said canvas and paper bags degrade in about five weeks and "are made out of a renewable resource - trees. People want to portray this as a massive new tax on consumers, when that's not really what it is."

Gary Weckselblatt can be reached at 215-345-3169 or gweckselblatt@phillyBurbs.com Follow Gary on Twitter at twitter.com/gweckselblatt

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